Opinion: Growing Up With Pokemon

In this Gamasutra opinion piece, James Bishop champions Pokemon as the ultimate coming-of-age story in gaming, showing why the multi-million selling Nintendo title actually has surprisingly resonant messaging for players.

In any coming-of-age novel, or bildungsroman, the story often begins with the hero or protagonist as a child. If not as a child, then it begins on the cusp of adulthood--a young adult transitioning from childhood and encountering all of the problems therein.

They set out just after their metaphorical transformation in order to prove themselves and, in a sense, show that they are worthy of inheriting the world before them. They embark on a journey.